In the world of wireless communication, there are many methods in which to communicate over a wireless network. Among these methods of wireless communication is push to talk. Push to talk (PTT) allows a user to communicate over an air channel merely by pressing and holding the appropriate PTT button on a wireless phone. This allows a user near instant access to any user in a predetermined call group, since no dialing is required and the listener(s) or called party(ies) does not have to answer. More importantly, the called party(ies) or listener(s) can not elect to not answer the call. This is vastly different from traditional cellular calls that: (1) require the user to dial a phone number or numbers; and (2) require the user to wait before speaking until the call is answered and connected.
Despite all of the benefits, push to talk is not without its limitations. For example, current proprietary push-to-talk systems use a dedicated air channel for communications. This means the air link channel is reserved for use even though no users may be using it. Also, push-to-talk phones on proprietary push-to-talk systems typically never shift to a dormant mode, because the air channel is reserved. This is advantageous because it allows a user to receive a push to talk communication without waiting for the phone to go from a dormant mode to an active mode. However, this is a waste of resources as the channel could be used for other calls and power resources on the wireless phone may be wasted. In standards-based wireless networks that incorporate a PTT feature, communication channels are not reserved for the PTT feature. This eliminates the waste in communication resources, but increases the time from a PTT request to an indication that the caller can begin speaking. If the called party is allowed to go dormant and is dormant, as is the case in standards-based packet data networks, such as, for example, Telecommunications Industry Association/Electronic Industries Alliance IS-835, then the time from a PTT request to an indication that the caller can begin speaking is even longer, due to the time required to activate the wireless phone from a dormant state. Unfortunately, for users that are accustomed to the proprietary PTT systems, the delay in such a PTT connection is undesirable and in some case unacceptable.
PTT calls use a half-duplex communications system and therefore, only one person can have the ability to speak at a time. All calls are handled on a first come, first serve basis. That is the first PTT requestor “receives the floor,” so to speak and holds the floor until it is released. Because of this arrangement, existing PTT systems do not allow for efficient queuing of call participants. This can lead to a disorganized and inefficient call, as a user with little to say can dominate a call by simply pressing and holding the appropriate button on a wireless phone.
Therefore, a need exists for a method and apparatus for preserving wireless resources while saving call setup time and for queuing multiple participants in a call.